Answer:
352 seconds are needed for the radioisotope to decay to one-sixteenth of its original mass.
Explanation:
The decay of radioisotopes are represented by the following ordinary differential equation:
[tex]\frac{dm}{dt} = -\frac{t}{\tau}[/tex]
Where:
[tex]t[/tex] - Time, measured in seconds.
[tex]\tau[/tex] - Time constant, measured in seconds.
[tex]m[/tex] - Mass of the radioisotope, measured in grams.
The solution of this expression is:
[tex]m(t) = m_{o}\cdot e^{-\frac{t}{\tau} }[/tex]
Where [tex]m_{o}[/tex] is the initial mass of the radioisotope, measured in kilograms.
The ratio of current mass to initial mass is:
[tex]\frac{m(t)}{m_{o}} = e^{-\frac{t}{\tau} }[/tex]
The time constant is now calculated in terms of half-life:
[tex]\tau = \frac{t_{1/2}}{\ln2}[/tex]
Where [tex]t_{1/2}[/tex] is the half-life of the radioisotope, measured in seconds.
Given that [tex]t_{1/2} = 88\,s[/tex], the time constant of the radioisotope is:
[tex]\tau = \frac{88\,s}{\ln 2}[/tex]
[tex]\tau \approx 126.957\,s[/tex]
Now, if [tex]\frac{m(t)}{m_{o}(t)} = \frac{1}{16}[/tex] and [tex]\tau \approx 126.957\,s[/tex], the time is:
[tex]t = -\tau \cdot \ln\frac{m(t)}{m_{o}}[/tex]
[tex]t = -(126.957\,s)\cdot \ln \frac{1}{16}[/tex]
[tex]t \approx 352\,s[/tex]
352 seconds are needed for the radioisotope to decay to one-sixteenth of its original mass.
